Why Josh Heupel handshakes don’t always go well after Tennessee football wins

Josh Heupel appears to be one of the most likable coaches in college football.

So why would an opposing coach seem to dislike him so much when they shake his hand at the end of a Tennessee win?

That appeared to be the case for UConn coach Jim Mora after the Vols’ 59-3 win last week.

Or why would Heupel have to apologize to an opposing coach?

That appeared to be the case when Heupel and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz shook hands after the Vols’ 66-24 win last season.

Heupel’s teams score a lot of points. Sometimes he must deal with criticism that they score too much or too late in games. Some fans roll their eyes at the notion, but it’s relevant this week.

No. 12 Tennessee (7-2, 3-2 SEC) plays No. 15 Missouri (7-2, 3-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri.

The Vols beat Missouri 62-24 in 2021 and 66-24 in 2022. They scored a touchdown in the final two minutes in both games. Heupel has done that in a blowout win only one other time in his UT tenure. That was a last-minute TD to cap a 63-6 win over Akron in 2022.

Mora’s reaction last week and the rematch with Missouri this week brings Heupel’s approach to finishing games back into focus. There’s nuance to it, and Heupel explains that there’s no ill will behind it.

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Josh Heupel warned Missouri game could haunt him

Last season, CBS analyst Rick Neuheisel warned that UT tacking on a TD with 36 seconds remaining against Missouri could have consequences for Heupel.

“Eli Drinkwitz is filing that away," Neuheisel said. “We will see if that ever comes back to haunt (Heupel).”

After the 2022 Missouri game, Heupel whispered something to Drinkwitz as they shook hands. Drinkwitz then patted Heupel on the shoulder, and they appeared to leave on good terms.

In the postgame news conference, Drinkwitz said he wasn’t offended by UT’s aggressive scoring at the end of the game.

“He coaches his team. I coach my team. So it’s our job to defend what they do,” Drinkwitz said. “He runs his offense the way they’ve always run it. I’ve got no issues with their football team and what they do. That’s up to each individual head coach.

“It’s our job to not let that happen. It’s my job.”

Missouri is in a better position for this game against UT. The teams have identical records, and the Vols are a 1-point favorite.

Why did Jim Mora blow past Heupel’s handshake?

After the Vols beat UConn 59-3, Mora raced through Heupel’s handshake and appeared to say something that caught the UT coach's attention.

Heupel downplayed it, and Mora didn’t address it. But in the postgame news conference, Mora said he was proud of his players “for the class that they showed on that football field before, during and after the game.”

Mora could’ve been referring to a pregame incident where UConn players were stretching on UT’s side of the field. Heupel had them moved, and a few words were exchanged.

Mora also could’ve conflated that incident with UT’s up-tempo offense in the fourth quarter and the chippy tone throughout the game.

“UConn was talking so much trash,” cornerback Doneiko Slaughter said. “If you come talking trash, you’re going to get punched in the mouth.

“You want to keep it a respectful game at the end of the day. But if you want to take it to that type of game, it can be that game all night.”

'It's important to let those guys play'

In this offensive era of football, running up the score isn’t viewed the same as it was decades ago. A team can quickly score in bunches, so big leads aren’t always safe.

But there are still two things that football purists don’t like to see from a team closing out a blowout win. It shouldn’t pass the ball or run an up-tempo offense because that leads to more points.

Heupel’s teams do both in competitive games with the starters, and not much changes when reserve players enter the game in a rout. He said there’s a reason behind that, and it’s not malicious.

“In that (UConn) football game, our guys haven’t had an opportunity to play the way that we play, so I thought it was important to be able to evaluate them (and) for them to also have the experience of playing how we play,” Heupel said. “It’s one of their first game experiences. I just think it’s important to let those guys play.”

Against UConn, 11 UT players made their career debut, and five additional players made their season debut.

No. 3 quarterback Gaston Moore and No. 4 quarterback Navy Shuler attempted eight short passes and ran the offense at a fast tempo. But UT scored only a field goal in the fourth quarter. And it didn’t attempt a final TD, instead stopping the drive at the 3-yard line and letting the game clock run out.

“There are times when you need to slow it down,” Heupel said.

How UT keeps scoring in blowout wins

UT has gotten plenty of practice at finishing blowout wins under Heupel. The Vols have led by at least 30 points in the fourth quarter in 13 games during the past three seasons.

They’ve thrown 50 passes and had nine TD drives of three minutes or less with those big fourth-quarter leads.

But only the 2022 Missouri game drew disappointment from some UT fans, who thought Heupel ran up the score. Granted, that wasn’t the prevailing opinion.

“I don’t know what the right thing to do is in that moment,” Heupel said after the 2022 Missouri game. “At the end of the day, our guys continued to play football.”

Don’t expect Saturday’s game to be a rout by either team. But CBS is certain to review how last year’s game ended during its broadcast.

But if the harshest criticism against Heupel requires him to explain how he wins, UT fans will gladly take that.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: Why Josh Heupel handshakes don’t always go well